Manhwa like Villains Are Destined to Die have to do one thing well: put a heroine in a story that has already decided how she dies, and let her think her way out. Penelope Eckhart wakes up as the hated villainess of a dating game on hard mode, where every ending is death. The six picks below share that engine, some more literally than others, and we say which is which.
TL;DR: Manhwa like Villains Are Destined to Die, ranked by fit: Raeliana (closest, a reincarnated side character who survives on plot knowledge), Who Made Me a Princess, I Am the Real One, Beware the Villainess, Doctor Elise and The Remarried Empress. All six are finished, and every status and count below was rechecked against the official pages for this update.
Villains Are Destined to Die by SUOL and Gwon Gyeoeul. Cover via AniList.
Manhwa like Villains Are Destined to Die, also sold as Death Is the Only Ending for the Villainess (AniList lists both titles for the same webtoon): start with Raeliana, the closest match. All six picks here were finished on AniList when we checked on October 28, 2026, so none leaves you waiting. The source itself is at a turning point: Tapas posted on August 15, 2026 that "the main story has come to a close," with special episodes to follow, and a TV anime was announced on August 9.
| Manhwa | English platform | Status | Closest to Villains for... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raeliana | Tapas, Tappytoon | Completed (158 Tapas ep) | Survival on plot knowledge |
| Who Made Me a Princess | Tapas, WEBTOON | Completed (135 Tapas ep); WEBTOON rerelease weekly | A death sentence from a parent |
| I Am the Real One | Tapas | Completed (164 Tapas ep) | A family that sides with the impostor |
| Beware the Villainess | Tapas | Completed (149 Tapas ep) | Comedy take on the villainess role |
| Doctor Elise | Tapas, Tappytoon | Completed (156 Tapas ep) | A second chance at a known bad ending |
| The Remarried Empress | WEBTOON | Finished at Ch. 247 | Court intrigue, anime in 2027 |
Five of the six are on Tapas, which closes on March 31, 2027.
Manhwa like Villains Are Destined to Die: which one should you read first?
Start with Raeliana if you liked Penelope's calculated survival: a reincarnated heroine fated to die makes a deal with the male lead using what she knows of the plot. Pick Who Made Me a Princess for a death sentence from a father, Beware the Villainess for comedy, and The Remarried Empress if the court politics hooked you more than the game.
Tapas Media's official trailer for Villains Are Destined to Die.
1. Raeliana: the closest match
Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion by Milcha and Whale. Cover via AniList.
Platform: Tapas, Tappytoon | Status: completed; Tapas lists 158 episodes, AniList 158 chapters
If you want the same engine, this is the first manhwa like Villains Are Destined to Die to read. In Tapas' summary, "when Eunha Park dies, she awakens in the world of a novel as Raeliana McMillan," a secondary character, "the daughter of a baron who is fated to die at the hands of her fiancé." Tappytoon puts it more bluntly: "Poisoned to death by her own betrothed?!"
What makes it the closest fit is the survival-as-strategy framing. Using "her knowledge of future events and political secrets," Raeliana makes a deal with the male lead, Duke Noah Volstaire Wynknight, who agrees to protect her "as his fake fiancée in exchange for information." Tappytoon frames it as six months of pretending. The romance grows out of a negotiation where both sides are calculating, the same edge Penelope's relationships have.
It's a fan pick, too. In a June 2026 r/OtomeIsekai thread asking for recommendations after Villains Are Destined to Die, one reply listed "why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion(finished)" alongside Villains itself. AniList dates the run from September 2017 to March 2021. Our Raeliana review covers it in depth.
For the original that started this list, with its hard-mode death stakes, see our .
Villains Are Destined to Die review
2. Who Made Me a Princess
Who Made Me a Princess by Plutus and Spoon. Cover via AniList.
Platform: Tapas (completed, 135 episodes), WEBTOON (weekly rerelease) | Status: Finished at 135 chapters on AniList
WEBTOON's summary: "A modern-day woman awakens reborn as Athanasia, the doomed princess of a novel she knows by heart, destined to be executed by her own father, Emperor Claude." Her first plan is to live unnoticed and escape, and it falls apart when she meets the emperor years earlier than the story says she should.
Where Villains Are Destined to Die makes its stakes a game interface, Who Made Me a Princess makes them a relationship: she survives by changing how one dangerous man feels about her. AniList lists 135 chapters, ending in December 2025, and Tapas marks its 135-episode English edition completed. WEBTOON is running a separate weekly English release, up every Thursday; it had reached Episode 34 on October 7, 2026. See our Who Made Me a Princess review.
3. I Am the Real One
I Am the Real One by yuun and March. Cover via AniList.
Platform: Tapas | Status: completed; Tapas lists 164 episodes, AniList 160 chapters
Not an isekai, but the closest in mood. "A prophecy foretold that the Grand Duke would only have one water elementalist born from him," and Keira knows she's destined for those powers. After years of doing everything right, "she's executed after the conniving Cosette appears, claiming to be the Grand Duke's real daughter." Then Keira wakes up, with a second chance to make allies before Cosette moves again.
Among manhwa like Villains Are Destined to Die, this one has the closest mood: a heroine whose own family has already decided she's the problem. She can't charm her way out with game knowledge, only with memory of how it went last time. AniList's run ended in February 2026. The I Am the Real One review covers where it lands.
4. Beware the Villainess: the comedy version
Beware the Villainess! by GLLIMTOON. Cover via AniList.
Platform: Tapas | Status: completed; Tapas lists 149 episodes, AniList 144 chapters
The picks above play the premise straight. This one doesn't. "After an accident, a modern-day college student awakens as the story's villainess, Melissa Foddebrat." She's nobody's favorite, but she is the duke's daughter, and she's "determined to live it up." Episode 2 is titled "Calling Off a Royal Engagement," which tells you how much respect she has for the plot.
Where Penelope works the system to survive, Melissa mostly ignores it. If you liked Villains Are Destined to Die but want the genre played for laughs, this is the palate cleanser, and one of the best reincarnated villainess manhwa for a lighter read. AniList dates its run from April 2020 to June 2026.
For the full ranked field of proactive-heroine titles across this genre, see our list.
best villainess manhwa 2026
5. Doctor Elise: the redemption spin
Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp by mini and Yuin (KIDARISTUDIO). Cover via AniList.
Platform: Tapas, Tappytoon | Status: completed; Tapas lists 156 episodes, AniList 156 chapters including 13 side stories
Doctor Elise runs the villainess premise backward. Tappytoon introduces "Dr. Song Jihyun," a skilled surgeon and "the youngest professor at a prestigious med school," who "used to be an absolute terror of a royal in her previous life." Just as she's about to die over the ocean (a plane crash, in Tapas' version), "she wakes up as her past self, Princess Elise, once again," now with a master surgeon's knowledge.
As manhwa like Villains Are Destined to Die go, the link is the heroine handed a second shot at a fate she knows ends badly. The difference is tone: this is redemption and competence, watching Elise heal an ailing empire with skills nobody around her has. Tappytoon lists the main run (Episodes 1 to 143) and a separate sequel.
6. The Remarried Empress
The Remarried Empress by Alphatart, HereLee and SUMPUL. Cover via AniList.
Platform: WEBTOON | Status: finished at Chapter 247 (January 2026); side stories return this fall
The outlier, and the most timely. There's no isekai and no game. Navier, "the perfect Empress of the Eastern Empire," chooses divorce after discovering that her husband, "Emperor Sovieshu, plans to replace her with his mistress," and resolves to become an Empress in another land. It's here because the appeal overlaps: a composed heroine in a hostile court, refusing to be the victim.
The final episode, Chapter 247, came out on January 15, 2026 on Naver Webtoon, closing what ANN called "a seven-year serialization," and WEBTOON published the final chapter in English. On October 8, 2026, Crunchyroll announced at New York Comic Con a TV anime by TROYCA "for broadcast next year," with Yoko Hikasa as Navier, and ANN reports that side stories return this fall. Our Remarried Empress review has the full rating.
What Reddit says
Ask r/OtomeIsekai for something like Villains Are Destined to Die and the answers depend on which half of it hooked you. Our six follow Penelope bargaining to stay alive. Readers who came for the game itself, the affection to win and the endings to dodge, get sent somewhere else:
- The person asking in a March 2025 thread named the draw plainly: "the fact that she is trapped in the game is definitely one of them." (comment)
- For that itch, one September 2025 reply pointed to Praesepe Outside the Cage: "Game/conversation mechanics and endings are involved and the stakes are high for the MC." (comment)
- And a dose of realism from r/manhwa: "Villains are destined to die is probably the best one out there though, so it's hard to find any that really compare." (comment)
We'd split it the same way. If winning affection while dodging every death ending was the fun part, try Praesepe Outside the Cage before anything here; AniList still lists it as releasing, so expect to wait for chapters. If it was Penelope talking her way out of trouble, Raeliana is still the closer match.
How we ranked them
In print: Ize Press, a Yen Press imprint, prints Beware the Villainess! in paperback volumes, so it stays readable in English after Tapas closes.
We ranked by how closely each matches Penelope's situation: Raeliana shares the most of it, The Remarried Empress the least, though it's the one with an anime on the way. Platform note: Tapas ends service on March 31, 2027 at 23:59 PT, so check our Tapas shutdown update before relying on it for the first five picks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What manhwa is most like Villains Are Destined to Die?
Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion is the closest fit. Eunha Park wakes up in a novel as Raeliana McMillan, a baron's daughter fated to die at the hands of her fiancé, and trades what she knows of the plot to Duke Noah Wynknight for protection as his fake fiancée. It is completed at 158 episodes on Tapas.
Are these all otome isekai like Villains Are Destined to Die?
Three are: Raeliana, Who Made Me a Princess and Beware the Villainess all drop a modern woman into a story she knows. I Am the Real One and Doctor Elise are second-chance stories where the heroine wakes up in her own past life, and The Remarried Empress has no reincarnation at all.
Is Villains Are Destined to Die the same as Death Is the Only Ending for the Villainess?
Yes. AniList lists Death Is the Only Ending for the Villainess and The Villain's Ending Is Death as alternate titles of the same webtoon. The heroine is Penelope Eckhart, the hated villainess of a game set on hard mode, where every ending is death.
Which of these manhwa are completed?
All six are finished. Tapas marks Raeliana (158 episodes), Who Made Me a Princess (135), I Am the Real One (164), Beware the Villainess (149) and Doctor Elise (156) as completed. The Remarried Empress ended with Chapter 247 in January 2026, though side stories return this fall. WEBTOON is also rereleasing Who Made Me a Princess weekly.
Where can I read manhwa like Villains Are Destined to Die?
Tapas carries the first five picks in English. Raeliana and Doctor Elise are also on Tappytoon, Who Made Me a Princess has a weekly WEBTOON release, and The Remarried Empress is on WEBTOON. Tapas ends service on March 31, 2027, so check its shutdown update before buying episodes there.
Is there a Remarried Empress anime?
Yes. Crunchyroll announced a TV anime at New York Comic Con on October 8, 2026, animated by TROYCA for broadcast in 2027, with Yoko Hikasa as Navier. Villains Are Destined to Die also has a TV anime announced, on August 9, 2026, with no studio or date yet.
Related Reading
- Villains Are Destined to Die review: the source of this list, with its hard-mode premise explained.
- Best villainess manhwa 2026: the full ranked field, including several picks here.
- Raeliana review: the closest match on this list, covered in depth.
- Best romance manhwa 2026: broader romance picks beyond the villainess niche.
- Villains Are Destined to Die Reading Guide
- Villains Are Destined to Die Characters: Full Cast Guide
How We Checked This
Every premise, status, count and date here was checked on October 10, 2026 against the official Tapas, Tappytoon and WEBTOON pages, AniList's API records, Anime News Network's reports on The Remarried Empress (January 25 and October 9, 2026), and an r/OtomeIsekai recommendation thread. Each fact has a row in our sources table with a quoted line from the page. On this pass we corrected three premises: I Am the Real One is a second-chance story, not a reincarnation into the impostor's role; Doctor Elise's previous life is described as "a terror of a royal," not an empress executed by rebels; and Beware the Villainess's summary never mentions an otome game or four male leads. We also added The Remarried Empress anime news, replaced a hero image whose source we couldn't trace, removed a duplicate Raeliana image and rewrote every image description. The "What Reddit says" comments come from two r/OtomeIsekai threads and one r/manhwa thread, pulled on October 21, 2026.
On October 28, 2026 we re-checked all six picks' status on AniList (all finished) and the source's alternate English title, Death Is the Only Ending for the Villainess, in AniList's synonyms.
Last reviewed: October 28, 2026
References
- Villains Are Destined to Die on Tapas
- Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion on Tapas
- Raeliana on Tappytoon
- Who Made Me a Princess on WEBTOON
- Who Made Me a Princess on Tapas
- I Am the Real One on Tapas
- Beware the Villainess! on Tapas
- Doctor Elise on Tappytoon
- Doctor Elise on Tapas
- The Remarried Empress concludes after 7-year run (Anime News Network)
- The Remarried Empress gets TV anime from TROYCA in 2027 (Anime News Network)
- Villains Are Destined to Die on AniList
- Praesepe Outside the Cage on AniList
